Two of a Kind
by meggersreadsfanfiction
Summary: On a hunt, Daryl picks up more than just a 6-point. Grace is a hunter too, but has more hope than Dixon does. She sees Daryl as someone who is like her. Daryl sees her, as hope. (T for later scenes)


Ch1 I loosed an arrow directly into the neck of a small buck, bolting to the side of the animal to finish the job before anyone…or anything…took notice of my prize. He was a 6-pointer, small enough to carry back to the camp and carve up before the sun fell. My steps were unnaturally heavy as I walked through the woods, ready for the smiles on the faces of the hungry group I was going back to. They all thought I was cold and unfeeling, when in reality their praise and adoration upon my return from a successful hunt kept me going through the day. Many of them took my silence as carelessness, and ignored me as they felt they were being ignored, though I had learned everything I could about all of them. I knew who appreciated and loved one another, and those who were cutthroats and fairweathers to the group. Deep in thought, I didn't notice I had been followed. When I felt the cold of the blade pressed against the back of my neck, I almost threw the deer down in surprise, but I didn't want to jostle the meat. "Nice prize you got there, would be a shame if you didn't have the opportunity to eat it." I started to turn my head to see me attacker, but the blade came even closer to my neck. "Calm down there honey, I ain't wantin' to hurt you, but if you try that again, we will have a problem." I chuckled deep in my throat. A woman's voice with a sticky sweet southern accent belonged to the hand holding the knife to the back of my neck. "Alright then darlin', if you wanna keep this mysterious exchange mysterious, I'll respect that. But if you try to take this deer off my shoulder we are going to have a problem." I say, smiling a little to myself. The past few years of world corruption had hit everyone, and made everyone tough, or dead. I could hear the no-nonsense in this woman's voice, but if she wanted this deer, she'd have to pry it from my dead, reanimated hands. My people needed this food, and they were going to get it, or no one would. "I would never steal the fresh kill off the shoulder of a true hunter." I could hear a smile in her voice. "I simply wanted to see if you had any water bottles you could spare." I felt the knife leave my neck, and I visibly relaxed my shoulders. I turned to look at her, chancing the knife, and did not see what I had expected. She wasn't the prettiest girl I had ever seen, but she looked like she owned every piece of skin on her. She had long, curly brown hair, a warm smile, dressed for comfort and hunting, which was really a style that worked for her. She wore glasses, giving her appearance a hint of education. Her clothes were baggy on her, probably from too many skipped meals on the road, but she still had a thick build. She had brown eyes to match her hair, which were a bit uneven, but hardly noticeable. Overall, she looked like the sister of the best friend, or the truly innocent girl-next-door. From her brown work boots, to her worn jeans, to her t-shirt and camouflage jacket, she reminded me of the good girls I went to school with. I took all this in with a first glance, trying to observe all I could about her before a decision had to be made. "You put a knife to my neck for a bottle of water?" I said, trying to see if she was conning me or if she was being straight. She smiled, a smile baring her teeth, and nodded. "I wasn't gonna carve you up for a bottle of Aquafina, but I've been traveling for a while and wanted an excuse to talk to the living. I knew if you saw me approaching you you'd think I was after the deer, or that I was one of the grabbers." My eyes narrowed and my mouth drew a hard line. I knew I should leave her, or threaten her not to follow me, but something compelled me to trust her. She couldn't have been a day over 25, and to be a girl out here alone was dangerous. I knew Rick and Michonne could use another hunter in the group, and I wanted to see what this girl was about. "you had that right. You got a camp?" She looked down for a second and her face lost her smile for just a moment. She looked up at me and it came back. "No, I've been traveling alone for the past few months. My family is up in Western North Carolina, but I was in the process of moving to Texas when this all hit. I'm on my way to meet my family, so I tend to travel alone." She looked hopeful, full of something that I had lost. "Well, if you would like to stay over at our camp, you could rest a while then start back on your way. You'd have to hunt for your keep, but looking at the mess of squirrels in your bag you won't have a problem with that." Her face was a storm of confusion. "I just threatened your life for a chat, and you are inviting me back with you? What makes you think I'm going to trust you?" She looked me up and down. "Well, from what I've seen already, you can handle yourself. But it's not safe out here for women, especially one with skills like yours. I'm surprised one of the groups of men who roam the woods hasn't scooped you up as a captive yet." She blanched a bit and I could tell I had hit something personal. "My name is Grace. What's yours?" 


End file.
